Mass Effect 3 will require Origin, won't be available on Steam

EA confirmed over the weekend that Mass Effect 3 will require PC users to download and install EA's Origin games service.

BioWare's Chris Priestly revealed the dreaded news via the BioWare forums where he confirmed "Origin is required for all PC editions of Mass Effect 3, physical or digital." Although he announced that the initial release for Mass Effect 3 will be available on a "number of other 3rd party digital retailers", Steam won't be one of them.

The reasoning behind the decision seems to be caused by Steam adopting a "set of restrictive terms of service which limit how developers interact with customers to deliver patches and other downloadable content."

Priestly added, "We are intent on providing Mass Effect to players with the best possible experience no matter where they purchase or play their game, and are happy to partner with any download service that does not restrict our ability to connect directly with our consumers."

Whatever the said reasoning, this really isn't a surprising move from EA. Since last year, EA has been looking to use their major titles to entice users to install Origin on their system. Last year, Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic were available exclusively through Origin.

Matt Liebl
You can follow Senior News Editor Matt Liebl on Twitter @Matt_GZ. He likes games, sports, musicals, and his adorable dog, Wrigley, and his wife.